Trying to buy a Ram 2500, seems like they don't want my money

[Bill Bukovec]

I'm trying to buy a 2021 Ram 2500 , but nobody seems to anxious to sell me one.

My wife decided I need to replace my 2000 Silverado 1500. (she's tired of it leaving a pile of rust on the driveway) She picked out a 2021 Ram 2500 Bighorn (I get to pick the color).

We filled out the online "Build" feature on the website, printed out all the options we wanted. We realized that we will need to order a truck to get what we want. i am willing to wait the 8 weeks to have it built. The online price was $57,000 with the options we selected. Not sure if this included any type of incentives from the dealer.

I went to the first Ram dealer 6 days ago. Gave the salesman a copy of the build sheet we created online. The salesman said it may take 2 days to get a price.

Went to the next dealer 15 miles away. gave them the same build sheet. The salesman said it may take a few hours to get a price.

Told both salesmen I will be paying cash.

Six days later, I have not heard from either salesman. i called each dealership, still waiting for a response.

Is this a typical response? Do dealers NOT like to order vehicles? Do I need to carry a big bag of cash with me?

i noticed that the inventory of the 2500's is very low, which I thought was weird.

When we shopped for my wife's Toyota, we got a price on the spot (we ordered that one as well, 2 week lead time)

[Mike Henderson]

My advice is to never tell them you're going to pay cash. They make a decent profit when you finance the car. You don't have to finance it, but just leave the question open. Tell them you have to look at the financing options before you make a decision. Then pay cash.

Mike

[Ronald Blue]

I've not looked at Ram because they aren't in my radar. It's very easy to look at GM products online and basically input every option you seek. Try Autotrader because it has many new vehicles listed. You can set search radius, trim level, color and just about every other option. Vehicle shopping has never been easier. Curious as to what your seeking that's hard to get? At 57,000 it sounds like it's gas powered. I know from my searches that more are diesels are out there but I don't think that fits my needs. Anyway good luck. Those dealers don't seem very hungry.

Mike is correct that they love financing because they get a cut from the financed amount. My last pickup They were really adamant that we finance because they could give us a "better" deal so I did and then paid it off immediately. I don't recall the whole sales pitch now because that's 6 years ago.

[Frank Pratt]

My advice is to never tell them you're going to pay cash. They make a decent profit when you finance the car. You don't have to finance it, but just leave the question open. Tell them you have to look at the financing options before you make a decision. Then pay cash.

Mike

When we bought our current fifth wheel, I wanted to pay cash, but the dealer offered to split the commission with me to finance it. So that's what I did & got $500 for it. I paid the loan out the next day & there were no interest charges or fees.

But I don't understand those dealers being so not competent at selling their product.

[Bruce King]

Maybe the commission plan is lower for orders. Ask for the manager.

[Jim Becker]

Call the sales manager at one or both dealerships, explain that you've asked for a price but are not getting any response. There's also no reason you need to buy from a "local" dealer. Widen your list of dealerships and communication with their Internet sales departments. Tell them exactly what you want including factory installed options and request their best price. Do not indicate how you intend to pay.

The issue you are experiencing has nothing to do with the brand...it's poor sales people.

[Nathan Johnson]

To Jim's point above....it's a pandemic. Make them deliver it.

[Warren Lake]

IM not the guy to ask as I dont like new stuff and drive a 48 year old truck. There have been two times that people have talked to me about their new trucks. One past customer asked me if there were dealers in the country where i live out of the city and I gave him a few. He bought a truck out here out of the city and saved huge.

Another day at the dump talked to a guy that asked about my truck and said he just bought a new one, he went another bit north maybe 15 minutes an excellent price and this was a well known thing. Me never buying new had no idea but there is two people I ran into mirroring the same experience.


If this Cabinetmaking thing ever pays off and I want new zero chance id do the drive to the Tinseltown to buy one.

[Dave Lehnert]

As others have said, You told them you are paying cash. They don't like that.
Always say you are going to finance then pay cash after they give you a price.
I always have them add in the price of the extended warranty but almost never take it. They make big money there too.
After I said no they ended up giving it to me 10 years for under 2K. Maybe it will pay for itself but I'm at year 8 and never needed it.

[Devon Prescott]

I did this a few years ago (Ram 2500) but I was not building a spec unit. I had good luck as follows:
1. I emailed my approx. specs to 5 dealers telling each I was reaching out to others. (2 never got back with me, 2 were very high, 1 was OK)
2. I said "I will try to pay cash", everyone discounts this but its what I did. But I do downplay the cash part.
3. I called 2 small town dealerships (not in MY small town) who did not 'do' email.

I was surprised that one of those small dealers beat my closest Mega dealer by almost 4k (or more). They were a dream to deal with and they seemed happy to get my business - the Owner took care of me himself!
I would not call any Sales Managers myself. Its good advice if you want to deal with that Dealer, but I would rather push on down the road if a Salesperson can't be bothered to do their one job. To me, if the Saleswomen (or men) won't sell then what are the odds that anyone at the Dealership is going to be quick and eager to any job?

[Bill Dufour]

I was just talking with my friend about buying a car. He said the way to do it is to get the price with the loan and take the loan. That will get you the best price then you pay the loan off in 30 days and pay no interest. If you tell them cash sale up front you will pay 500-1,000 more.
Bil lD

[Ronald Blue]

I was just talking with my friend about buying a car. He said the way to do it is to get the price with the loan and take the loan. That will get you the best price then you pay the loan off in 30 days and pay no interest. If you tell them cash sale up front you will pay 500-1,000 more.
Bil lD

Unless you have a "0" per cent loan interest begins to accrue immediately. Waiting means you will pay some interest. When I did this on my truck I still had to get a "payoff" amount determined by the day they would receive the check. Since the bank wasn't local it and the payoff was mailed it cost me a small amount in interest.

[Joe Hendershott]

That would really get my goat.

[Brian Tymchak]

Maybe the commission plan is lower for orders. Ask for the manager.

Some speculation on my part. The profit margins are lower for the dealership for special order vehicles. The vehicles sitting on the lot were bought from the manufacturer with a volume discount. I would also guess that that sales people right now are trying to hit month, quarter, annual sales goals to earn bonuses. Anything ordered now from the manufacturer will count towards next year goals.

[Tom M King]

Those dealers may not have an allocation left for that truck. Ask first if they have an allocation left for one